I call Deputy Martin Browne.

I was on the list next.

I am not going to waste time. I have a list before me. Deputy Martin Browne is second on the list. That is all I can do. If Deputy Browne wants to give his space to Deputy McNamara, then so be it.

There needs to be some degree of fairness. I have no intention of taking my seat.

Deputy McNamara is wasting time.

I will ask my question because I took my place here at 9 a.m. yesterday to ask this question and I am here to ask the question.

I am not sure if there has been a mistake somewhere.

Deputy McNamara is wasting time. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae is at the top of the list before me. He is not here. Deputy Martin Browne is next and I call him.

Deputy Browne had the decency to acknowledge that I was ahead of him. This is the second week running that this has happened.

I ask Deputy McNamara to resume his seat.

I will not resume my seat.

I call Deputy Martin Browne.

I raise the commitment in the programme for Government to reduce our carbon footprint. A lorry recently crashed in Shannonbridge and I have been informed that it was later discovered that the truck in question was carrying a consignment of wood pellets that had been imported all the way from Australia. I have sat in the Joint Committee on Agriculture and the Marine listening to how the Government has made decisions which have resulted in the horticultural sector being in danger and peat now being imported from elsewhere in Europe. How does any of this fit in with a sustainable green strategy, when imports are increasing along with all of the emissions that go with that? I think the Government is having a laugh with us with regard to our carbon footprint.

Why are restrictions being imposed on Irish industries before proper thought has been given to filling the gap which is left and the impact these decisions will have on Irish businesses? The just transition fund will do precious little for many in the horticultural sector. I thank the Minister for meeting people in Tipperary last week. At the next meeting, the Minister might meet all of the stakeholders involved.

It makes no sense for peat to be imported, as Deputy Browne said. I received figures from the Department of the Taoiseach showing that €3.5 million worth of peat was imported into this country last year. We have workers who lost their jobs during a global pandemic. It is not right. Some 17,000 jobs, or more, are at risk. The midlands are suffering adversely. The Minister needs to take on board that the transition is not fair and counties such as Offaly are bearing the brunt of empty aspirations and rhetoric. People are losing their jobs and they have bills and mortgages to pay. I ask the Minister to wake up and take action.

Peat is coming into Ireland from five countries around Europe. This situation is meant to be the same for everyone in Europe, but here in Ireland people cannot stir because of the environmental impact assessment, EIA, requirement for 30 ha. This situation must be addressed.

This is clear evidence of tokenism rather than real environmental action. An ideological pursuit by some of the Minister's colleagues to try to eliminate the use of peat for horticultural activities has resulted in a situation where peat is being imported. We also face the very real prospect of jobs, such as those in the mushroom sector, being exported. We could lose a vibrant part of the Irish economy when there has been no real strategy put in place to find an alternative.

I raised this issue about peat last week and about straw being put back into the ground by farmers.

They were relying on peat for bedding and now, because of the legislation the Government is trying to introduce to require farmers to put the straw back into the ground, additional pressure will be put on them. The last two speakers are 100% correct. This all goes back to the fact that the Government does not have a clue what it is doing.

We need a just transition for the midlands in particular and for all of those workers in Bord na Móna and related industries.

It is not just.

No-----

We will hear the Minister, without interruption.

The Minister needs to wake up to reality.

The Minister without interruption.

He needs to wake up to reality.

The Minister without interruption.

That is why we supported some 39 projects on which the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, had worked with local communities. There was concern that some of these projects might not be able to qualify for funding approved by European institutions but, from what I hear, that will not be a problem for the vast majority. We will spend and invest that money and we will support Bord na Móna in its switch from brown to green. It rightly recognises that the skills it has in managing bogs can be used in this low-carbon future and that we can create employment, energy and industry on the back of that.

Peat extraction is a very significant environmental issue but it is not an issue of export. The vast majority of our peat was always exported. Most of the peat extracted for horticultural use was used by Dutch and UK growers. We have to make sure that the mushroom and horticultural industries here survive and thrive and I believe they will. We will have to look at a variety of different solutions, including the use of imported products, and look for new substitutes but the real opportunity in the midlands-----

-----is in the switch to green-----

-----which is where the employment, investment and finance will be.

I call on Deputy McNamara.

Does the Minister hear himself? We are importing peat.

Excuse me, Deputies.